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Over the holidays we did a long car journey down to the south-west. It ended up being considerably longer due to traffic delays, and felt much longer when our youngest only slept for a generous 10 minutes the whole way there! I prepared some activities suitable for our pre-schooler and toddler, which kept them entertained on the drive. I’ve shared them below for anyone else who is planning on a long road trip in the future and might be looking for some inspiration - I hope they come in handy.
You may recall that I did a blog back in the summer about 'TIPS ON HOW TO ENTERTAIN YOUR TODDLER WHILST TRAVELLING ABROAD' and some of these I packed for our Easter car journey too. However, I guess the beauty of travelling in the car is that you can pack a lot more than you can when travelling on a plane and train, so I definitely took advantage of this.
Audiobooks - Both the Bees really enjoy listening to audiobooks, particularly Big Bee. We downloaded Paddington Bear, Winnie-the-Pooh and Mary Poppins for the journey there and back. There are so many benefits of audiobooks from developing imagination and vocabulary, to enhancing their listening skills. Complaints were made when we thought they weren't listening and turned it off...
Object scavenger hunt - Such a fun activity to play throughout the journey. In the 'Resource Library' (you can join for free!) I have created a two page worksheet with a variety of objects to find on your travels. We did one page on the way there and the other on the way back.
Big Bee in the midst of her scavenger hunt
Post-it/sticky notes - Big Bee is really into scribble writing little messages with her tiny pencil in her tiny notebook at home, so I thought she would really enjoy doing the same on some small post it notes that I had in my cavern of stationary wonders. Needless to say, the sticky factor was a hit and the car door had a glamorous make over.
Books - We have a basket of books in the car that the children can access (this is rotated regularly) and before the journey I made sure that they had a fresh batch to look at. Make sure there are lots of interesting illustrations for them to look at in the selection you choose.
Storytelling - A fun activity to do as a family where you can take it in turns or build on a story together. Who knows, you may end up with next 'The Gruffalo'...
Hidden object bottle - I have always wanted to create one of these for a longer journey, so I finally made one for this recent trip. I used a recycled water bottle, trinkets and some of our coloured rice from our rice sensory box. For the trinkets I just collected items from around the house, for example mini toys, pom poms, beads, balls, gems and dice. I sealed it with some tape. For older children you could write a list of what they have to find, and for younger some drawings. In our instance I made a note of what I had added and then asked them to find it. It was a big hit and doubled up as a wonderful shaker instrument!
Little Bee enjoying searching for the trinkets
Alphabet scavenger hunt - There can never be too much scavenging on one road trip! If your pre-schooler is really into recognising letters then you could print off the 'Road Trip Letters' sheets in the 'Resource Library' for them to keep a look out for, and when they spot a letter then they circle it. There are uppercase and lowercase sheets available.
Magnets/Magnatiles and a baking tray - Find a variety of magnets that you have lying around the house, and an old baking tray for some magnet fun and/or storytelling.
Zoo magnet play on an old baking tray
Music - Ensure you have access to your children's favourite tunes (and yours) for the journey. Have a Spotify account? Why not prepare a 'Road Trip Playlist'? Otherwise, make sure you have your best singing voice and a repertoire of nursery rhymes to tap into.
I spy road trip sheet - In the 'Resource Library' you can find the 'Road Trip I Spy' sheet (with answers) that has lots of hidden object within for your child to search for a tick off.
Stickers - Either take a pad of paper and some stickers, or even better take some reusable stickers. GALT do a travel friendly book, or for a bigger sticker book try these Melissa and Doug books.
Colouring books and crayons - A classic activity that is sure to keep them occupied. If you don't have a colouring book that you can take then you'll be able to find some colouring sheets online to print off.
Water magic - We are such big fans of these books and have found them invaluable for travelling. A firm favourite is a recent gift for Little Bee's birthday - 'WOW Water!', and he gets so engrossed when colouring it in! A must have for any journey with young children.
A water colouring adventure to space
Flash cards - For younger children they may enjoy looking through object flashcards and the illustrations on them, and then putting them in places that are hard for you to reach when you are later tidying up! Or letter and number flashcards for recognition. For older children you can purchase flashcards like "X things to do on a car journey/plane journey".
Magazines - As a special treat we took the Bees to our local shop to purchase a magazine each. To say that the excitement levels were sky high would be an understatement. This definitely made up for the shock of discovering how much children's magazines cost nowadays! Nevertheless, a worthwhile investment as they thoroughly enjoyed reading them, the stickers included and the little accompanying gifts.
Just a spot of light magazine reading and flicking
Activity books - When we travelled abroad last year the children picked out an activity book to do on the plane together. Although it's not possible to do an activity book with your younger child in the car unless your sat next to them, they could still enjoy the graphics, colouring in pages and stickers. You could then support them on the activities at your final destination.
Bag of toys - We encourage the Bees to pack a little rucksack of their favourite toys to enjoy on the journey (if they wish) and at their destination. They then keep them in the back next to them, so that they can access their selection whenever they want.
Ipad/tablet and headphones - If your children watch TV in the car then make sure you've charged their devices up and download their favourite shows onto it!
Where’s Wally? (or the Queen) - Who doesn't love searching for Wally? An activity that's sure to keep the little ones entertained and engaged with lots of amazing illustrations to enjoy. You can also find other search and find books on Amazon, like 'Where's the Poo?' and 'Where's Bluey?'.
Little Bee searching for and spotting the Queen
Counting game - A fun family game whereby you pick an object and colour to count in a certain time frame e.g. how many blue cars can we see in a minute, or how many green lorries/trucks in a minute.
Object I spy and colour eye spy - Play the class i spy game as a family, or for younger children you could play the colour version whereby you say a colour and they have to spot an object in that colour.
Travel etch-a-sketch/scribbler pad - For a different drawing and stamping medium that creates no mess then a scribbler pad is a must.
Other tips to remember for a long journey:
Lots of snacks and water
Ensure you have easy access to a travel potty/loo roll
A change of clothes
First aid kit - plasters, calpol, antiseptic wipes etc.
Baby wipes
Plastic bag for rubbish
Don't forget your own snacks, water and a thermos of tea/coffee!
If you have any recommendations that you couldn't do a long car journey without then please send them over. I'm always looking for more ideas to share.
Happy travels :)
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